Relationships First NL

Relationships First Newfoundland & Labrador is delighted to announce that registration is OPEN for Restorative Justice Practice in Child and Youth Care, a 2-day professional learning experience with Rick Kelly to be held at the Faculty of Education, Memorial University, on June 22 & 23, 2026.

This experiential session is for anyone working in relationship with children, youth, and families/caregivers, including child and youth care practitioners, social workers, community practitioners, educators, and school staff. No prior restorative experience is required.

Rick Kelly is a Child and Youth Care Practitioner with over 40 years of experience. Rick is the founder of Just Us: A Centre for Restorative Practices, he holds a Master’s in RJ/RP and has spent 25+ years as a facilitator, trainer, educator, and researcher. His work integrates trauma-informed and neurodevelopmental perspectives, centring creativity, youth voice, and system transformation.

Rick will be in St. John’s for the World Child and Youth Care Conference 2026 and will be sharing his expertise and experience with us in advance of the conference.

For more information, a draft agenda and a link to registration, please visit www.rfnl.org and click on ‘Events’.

Save the date!

We’ll be gathering in St. John’s on June 22 & 23, 2026 for a two-day professional learning experience with Rick Kelly.

More details and registration information coming soon.

You’re always welcome to reach out or explore our work at www.rfnl.org

If you live and work in Labrador, this event is for you! DM us for registration information.

Labrador Retreat: Two-Eared Listening for Deeper Understanding | RFNL Two and a half days of learning, practicing, and deepening your experience of two-eared listening, dialogue circles, and restorative justice.

Our friends at CJI have launched a merchandise fundraiser to support their Stride program, a restorative initiative that walks alongside folks as they transition from prison back into community.

Their new merch line is designed to spark conversation and reflect the values at the heart of this work.

Check it out here: https://cjiwr.com/shop/

In moments of uncertainty, grief, or disruption, many of us are holding questions about how to create space for people to process what is happening while continuing our work and daily lives.

We’re sharing Circles for Difficult Times, a talking circle guide developed by Relationships First Newfoundland and Labrador. It offers a flexible structure for using circle practice in classrooms, workplaces, homes, and community spaces, with care, dignity, and belonging at the centre.

This resource is offered as a gentle starting point for thoughtful, relational engagement during difficult moments.

Find the link to download the guide in the comments.

An important book for all of us to read at this time. It is very readable, practical, and encouraging as it outlines how we have to resist living in a culture of fear. It is open access and available for free digitally. If you would like to join RFNL in an online bookclub for this book, please PM us or indicate your interest in the comments below.

Children Who Survived a School Shooting and Chose to Teach | The Case Written from the first-person perspective of a Columbine shooting survivor, this book documents the experiences of a group of school shooting survivors who went

"In times of crisis, our first and most urgent work is with the big people. The helpers. The educators. The parents."

Today, hearts are heavy in Tumbler Ridge and the ripples will be felt around this globe.

When something unthinkable happens in a school, our instinct is to rush to the children — and of course we do. But in times of crisis, our first and most urgent work is with the big people. The helpers. The educators. The parents.

Because if you’re not okay, the people you serve don’t stand a chance.

There is nothing you will say today that matters more than attending to your own nervous system first. Slow your breathing. Feel your feet on the floor. Kids aren’t listening for perfect words — they’re watching for cues of safety. They are scanning your face, your tone, your posture for one question: In this moment, are we okay?

Right now, information is everywhere. This is the first time in history that children have access to this much detail, this quickly. We cannot control that completely, as hard as we try. But we can open conversations. We can create space to help them make sense of hard things. We can say, “What have you heard?” and “What are you wondering?” and then we can sit with them in it.

The hardest moments on this journey were never meant to be walked alone. The closer you are to the situation, the more you can identify both in your physical location and your emotional connections, you will feel it all that much more.

Show up.
Bring food.
Look after your teachers today.
Hug each other a little longer at drop-off.

Together, we will make sense of hard things.